Steam and GOG Both Giving Away Free Games This Weekend

This weekend marks yet another Free Weekend on Steam. Valve has been doing these for a while, so what makes this particular weekend newsworthy? Scale. Usually, Steam makes a very small number of games free for its Free Weekends. From today until Sunday (10/16 - 10/19), the following ten games are free on Steam:

Also newsworthy is the timing. Earlier this week, GOG announced their own version of a free weekend. GOG is launching the beta for their multiplayer service, GOG Galaxy. To promote and test the service, GOG will be giving away Aliens Versus Predator Classic 2000 for free to those who sign up for Galaxy. This would currently be the only way for people to get the game.

A reaction to GOG Galaxy?

Taken together, we can guess why Steam chose this weekend for such a big free weekend. Until now, GOG and Steam have addressed different needs in the gaming community. While some of their libraries overlap, each generally serves their own purpose: Steam appeals to a general audience, while GOG caters to those who like older games. However, GOG Galaxy might cut into Steam's audience. The Free Weekend, although minor, might be a cutthroat way of pre-empting the impact Galaxy might have.